Happy July!

New month, new reads… and same corny jokes from us.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our Saturday Nook with NY Times Bestselling Author Frederick Joseph (This Thing of Ours), and a special thank you to our guests Tyreke, Jerid, and Coach Drew!

We will have the replay audio soon!

Make sure to check out our latest Author Talks Podcast with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Marcia Chatelain on her latest book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.

We discussed the history of McDonald’s in Black America, sit-in protests at McDonald’s, Martin Luther King Jr., economics, and the overall health impacts of the food industry!

A very insightful conversation. Enjoy!

This Week’s punchlines:

• 📚 What do we know about community? 

•  📺 Book Adaptation Summer Blockbusters

• 📖 New Jonas Hassen Khemiri Book

This Week On Bookum:

Alright, you know the rules (let's be real – there are no rules).

However, anytime we get too comfortable, you know we have to put on that detective hat.

Or in this week's case, that doctor's coat, because we are about to get surgical.

*Dramatic pause before topic reveal…*

What Do We Know About Community?

For those who listen to our Bookum Creator Talks (just nod yes to be nice ☺️), you know we always ask about community.

The question is, why do we always ask? Well, let us explain.

As book creators ourselves, we saw a growing issue emerging with chasing the algorithm, virality, and follower counts becoming less prioritized.

Content creators like yourselves know (or have at least experienced) that, we have exited the followers-based era and entered the interest-based era.

Nothing wrong with that on paper.

The interest-based era, popularized by TikTok, has created a lollapalooza effect of virality, the law of shitty clickthroughs (coined by author Andrew Chen. Btw, you know you’ve reached this viral moment when you have to turn off your comments because you’re getting into fights with faceless, 0-follower accounts 🤣), & lastly, random reach rates (aka you never know when your content will be seen by 1% of your followers or 30%).

Put simply: social media has become a box of chocolates.

These platforms have become megaphones (broadcast networks) instead of cellphones (peer-to-peer connections).

All of this at the expense of true community.

The gap between follower counts and genuine connection has never been wider.

That's why we built Bookum.

As creators, we need places to talk directly to our core community, our book clubs, and like-minded readers.

Hyperniche-based platforms.

Community spaces for engaging in book discussions around meaningful stories we love (or hate).

Places where readers can support their favorite book content creators, authors, and storytellers (membership clubs).

Bookum is a place to create depth over reach.

Depth in stories, conversations, and connections.

So, what do we know about community, you ask? We know it’s worth nurturing.

Share your book reviews, blogs, and start your clubs on Bookum today!

This Week in The Book World:

Summer is for books and blockbusters, and this week we finally got the full Project Hail Mary trailer!

As you know, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (also wrote The Martian) was one of our Bookum favorites last year, and the trailer looks promising.

And that’s not it.

For our Emily Henry fans, we also got a teaser from her People We Meet on Vacation adaptation AND an unofficial date reveal of January 9th!

Are you excited for either or both of these? Let us know!

We’ll attach [date reveal] below:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=515883368212647

This Week in Publishing:

Now on his sixth book, author Jonas Hassen Khemiri is back with his highly anticipated summer novel The Sisters.

Summary:
The three Mikkola girls have always been different; the daughters of an eccentric Tunisian mother and an absent Swedish father, they never quite seemed to fit with the people around them. As the sisters crisscross the world from Stockholm to Tunis to New York, their lives are recounted by their childhood friend Jonas, who is also Swedish-Tunisian —and who closely resembles the author.

Get your copy of The Sisters today!

As always, if you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, please share it with others. Every share helps and keeps us growing!

Definitely share to a book content creator friend that might enjoy our newsletter!

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Happy Reading!

Download Bookum on Apple or Android Here!

See you next week!

Footnotes (Aka other articles we are reading and Bookum content):

Mid-Year Tags are here. Book content creator Larry shares her favorite books, disappointments, and 5-stars - https://youtu.be/kXenjUBvX4c?si=piqfe5XPNuc_fNoQ

20 Books Coming in July - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/books/new-books-july.html